Ultimately, they bolster each other on Do It Again. For the two artists, it’s not groundbreaking--it is a nice dollop of sideways expansion, revealing new areas that neither can quite achieve separately.

Moody. Loveless. One-paced. Monotonous. Dull.

A glimpse at the album cover for Seer, a severe black circle surrounded by a chaos of stars and glimmers, betrays the album’s chief theme: moments of symmetry floating in space.

Modern life might still be rubbish, but it is rarely shown to be so beguilingly beautiful.

It would have been great to hear the Fox and Millions show without the extra instruments to let the drummers truly shine. Nevertheless, their fury on the A side and their ability to tread the line between hypnotic and sleepy on the flip side creates a joyous, technically astute performance that rewards a patient listener.

It’s ambitious, even expansive, in scope, despite the introspection his lyrics communicate, and even if it wasn’t the intention, he provides an incredible snapshot of urban life through the lens of love and brittle electro-soul.

Ultimately, Seek Warmer Climes subsists on mood and atmosphere, seemingly hoping that the listener will too. At its best, it’s an engagingly stylish record, an agreeably abstract work of oblique angles and wintery spaces.

Unlike many acts that seem to get lost and lack any creativity once they're several albums in, Real Estate have arguably produced their best record to date.

Smart, engaging lyrics are a widespread and continual theme on McKenna’s initial offering.

Perfect Version rivals no Chastity Belt album and its nebulous delivery causes its songs to often slip through the listener’s hands. However, none of that is really the point of the album. ... A clearinghouse and a reset button, Julia Shapiro needed Perfect Version and we need the album precisely for that reason as well.

Park Hye Jin has single-handedly constructed a safe and supportive space for the introverted, sad, and disillusioned — a purely compassionate space put together by a single and inevitably singular talent for other lonesome souls to dance their sadness away.

In its bone-chilling, earnest spirit, we witness Swans maintaining a power they never lost – we see them exceeding expectations, branding themselves as a seismic force in experimental rock, and here, they continue to touch on that greatness.

My Morning Jacket – their first album in six years - finds a supremely engaging, often blissfully beautiful halfway point between the glossy eccentricities of more recent MMJ albums and those old slow-burn yet highly combustible 'jam band' dynamics.

Either through reticence or reverence for the music, this approach feels half-hearted and only partially realised. If the group wants to keep pushing the limits of Mariachi El Bronx, it may need to look elsewhere.

Most of the time, it sounds like each song has been half-written, then forgotten for a bit, then returned to with too little time to create something truly interesting, forcing Mulcahy to fill in the gaps with basically whatever will rhyme with the sketches of lyrics he had originally.

What’s left is a truly beautiful, if slightly dishevelled, gothic menagerie, amongst the last of an intact Broadcast’s recorded works, and a great inducement to see this movie so apparently rich in sound, terror, and beauty.

Super is a grower--a brave rejection of pipe and slippers, embracing the mythical dance floor with admirably vacuous experimentation, even if it mines the mid-nineties, when dance music grew least interesting.

Comfort food is dubbed so for a reason, and Real Hair’s got my belly delightfully full.

Unfortunately Girl realistically functions as little more than a jumbled hodgepodge of colorless notions, and another notch on the wall.

Anybody expecting wholesale reinvention on Many Moons, or even just the chance to hear Courtney attempt to scratch any experimental itch he might have had, are going to be let down; he’s probably never played it this safe before.

The Afterparty is messy, amusing at times and intentionally touching on uncomfortable moods, that honesty is appreciated, and the songs themselves feel fine, if underwhelming when they’re describing such potentially big emotions.

Reset is an enjoyable 42 minutes of dystopian aphorism and boasts more dense textures and a keener ear for juxtaposition than its predecessor. It's a definite progression; just don't expect it to tear down the firewalls of GCHQ any time soon.

Elsewhere is a compelling debut, on which Moore has successfully revitalised the folksy feel of some of her earlier work. For a first album, it’s certainly a triumph.

While so much EDM sounds the same right now, his tracks are thankfully hard to pigeonhole--as they weave industrial, deep house, dubstep, minimal and hip hop influences into a cohesive whole that’s both danceable and perfect for sofa listening too.

Sometimes all you need is an escape; a world of fun to jump into when you need a little pick me up. ... With Love in the 4th Dimension, they’ve capitalised on that feeling and make a truly stonking debut.

Even for those of us who’d never before considered the possibility of a James Blake and Lil Yachty collab, Bad Cameo somehow provides exactly what you’d expect. Ideas in abundance, terrific variety, a little indulgence, and an end product that actually makes perfect sense.

Food for Worms is frustrating in its lack of direction, but more than anything, frustrating because it could be spectacular.

Somehow, despite his success, Flowers understands that good music isn’t about what you have, but what could have been, and although his wife must wonder who he’s singing about all the time, the rest of us can press our face against the windows of childhood car journeys, and dream.

At times, Gonzalez’s penchant for dramatizing and confessional nature work almost too well, and you get the feeling you’re hearing something that was only meant to be shared between two people.

Working with producer Randall Dunn again at the famed Avast! Studio in Seattle (fortifying that West Coast pedigree), Black Mountain have become more capable than ever of transmuting their kaleidoscopic visions into a volcanic unison.

The album’s OTT closer “Sweetest Devotion” doesn’t really provide the conclusion you want either. Despite that, there’s a very good record in here, propped up by a some incredible modern classics (“Hello”, “Remedy”, “When Were Young”, “Love in the Dark”).

This is rich, idiosyncratic music that’s too wild and strange to copy.

Ultimately these songs work their sly magic in subtle and nuanced ways and here may lie the risk for BODEGA. Their, at first seemingly modest, charms need re-evaluating when on the third or fourth listen it all clicks and you realise what appeared modest is in fact pretty sublime.

This is a stunning record, principally because of its narrative arc and complete cohesion--it's easy to see why they're leaving the traditional format if they've perfected it.

The eleven tracks show little shift in the sisters’ sound, which remains as beguiling--or as infuriating--as ever.

Over time, it's proved itself to be dark, intelligent and one of the most imaginative albums of the year so far, but whether it’s as enduring as its predecessor, only time will tell.

Generous but gradually revealing.

Combat Sports reaffirms The Vaccines as one of the most exciting British bands around--and one absolutely still worth pestering friends about.

Moon Tides is a daydream, not a rollercoaster ride, and if you’re not enchanted with the album from its earliest moments you’re unlikely to find anything that will catch your attention down the line.

With a sense of perfection that may be tumultuous, Promise Everything is as real a record as you'll find. Swooning in some places and stormy in others, Basement have never sounded this good.

Much like its predecessor, GENE fuses flights of accessibility in parallel with the unorthodox, achieving a split-tone depth that at once evokes a murky, warbling uneasiness and in equal measure boasts splashes of untroubled psych-pop brilliance. Earworms deployed in quick succession, Dust helms familiar inventiveness and ingenuity that can sometimes feel a rarity.

While still offering glimmers of Jaga Jazzist’s undefinable, futuristic aspirations, the maximalist ethos of Pyramid ultimately comes across as oddly old-fashioned at a time when acts like 75 Dollar Bill are redefining the hypnotic potential of instrumental soundscapes.

A four-track run from “Spider” to “New Magic II” – which includes the title track and “St. Francis Waltz” – proves a career best for Rose, housing her most affecting tunes yet.

It feels like a fitting release for the duo who’ve been going for so long. The search for new ideas is always on, and with this one, they’ve found a winner that offers something a bit different, while not alienating.

It’s not a reinvention, but Mercury Rev did their experimentation on their earlier records. Here they just get on with the job of sounding like nobody else, which suits them very nicely indeed.

Hutson continues his startling ability to generate a world of his creation, and our making. It’s the little things that gift Hutson’s songs with a penetrable honesty, balanced between the softly plucked strings - beauty and realism.

There’s Always Glimmer isn’t perfect, but that's appropriate really: trying to sort out your feelings in trauma's wake never is.

These songs feel as if they only exist as a reference for performances, rather than for their own good. Not to mention that the point of a house show is missed if I am forced to put the record on in a crowded metro just to imitate the feeling of getting thrown around in a drunken haze before work.

Rest assured, this isn’t a record built to break completely free of any trademark parochial charms.

Choir of Echoes is largely a retread of old ground. It’s perfectly lovely ground all the same.

Sex and Love is best when self-assured but not arrogant, and when Nielson offers up confidently subdued melodies which give space for his production to ring out.

While Forever… stands as a cohesive work, its last three songs stand out, containing some of Whitney’s most powerful writing to date.

Upside Down Mountain establishes the songwriter as a career-musician, one who probably won’t be forgotten for a while yet.

Chalk it up as another transitional album of sorts; Love Yes has TEEN well on their way if they’re not already there.

Too often his raps are egotistical, self-pitying, trashy, crass or just clunky- distracting from the sonic feats behind the vocals.

Paradise State of Mind is a refreshing modern offering from the LA-duo, their numbers may have dwindled by half, but their sound is bigger than ever.

By the culmination of these nine songs, it’s hard to not be left with the impression that Bloom Forever is an album that Thomas Cohen really needed to make, and make public.

Hynes’ decision to collaborate broadly on Blood Orange proves a masterstroke in terms of the record’s diversity.

Though dark times have inspired and shaped this work, there is light and hope in its message of communication, achieving a real sense of togetherness.

An orchestral score for a remembered expanse, it casts vivid shadows but avoids rigid form.

It's due to the effortless nature of his rhythm and rhyme let the words float with direction, but it's not until you properly hone in on the syllables do you find the map unravelling, and the bigger picture coming to life that helps the poison sink in with the trap beats.

Alix is not a perfect album--Widmer and Joyner’s vocals still prove an acquired taste and while better balanced than previous efforts, the duo could still use a wider dynamic. However, it does arguably prove that Generationals’ bread and butter lies on the poppy side of the fence, this perhaps their most cohesive statement to date, and their yellow brick road’s poppy fields appear to serve only to revitalize.

Her spontaneous naivete and heartfelt vocals, while inticing, somehow get lost in these glossy, large scale and commercial productions.

While the 18-tracks teeter along the fine line of becoming slightly too long at certain points, it continues to offer an intimate compilation of her thoughts and emotions.

As a standalone document, this is a gem of an album.

I can't imagine there will be too many rap albums this year that better Injury Reserve's debut. This is a band who can achieve the same volatility and straight-up ingenuity of BROCKHAMPTON, on less than a quarter of the manpower.

It seems they're traversing into territory that may feel foreign at times. Still, each project, especially The Runner, has seen them remain true to who they are and the music they make while still managing to add a new dimension and layer of complexity to their story and vision.

The Best Day doesn’t offer much in the way of compelling us to venture forth; that is, even if we were inclined to in the first place.

The songs here beg to fall apart but are kept in tight reign by Chris Wilson's drums and R.J. Gordon’s flurrying bass while Stickles and guitarist Liam Betson slay riffs and trade licks.

Another reason to count Murphy among the best of ‘em is his ability to take a mood and encapsulate it so perfectly in the formal structure of dance track.

GINGER yields a sound that is more emotionally evolved than any album thus far. ... The result is BROCKHAMPTON have finally come of age.

Vulnerability is presented here as strength, where before it’s been masked in metaphor. It’s not that Welch isn’t scared any more; it’s that she’s made her peace with that, and in turn one of her strongest records to date.

For those who are familiar with Souleyman’s work, there may be nothing particularly new sonically on Bahdeni Nami. Regardless, it still remains a dizzying and exhilarating affair, preserving Souleyman’s power as an artist and performer.

For a debut album that finds her moving away from her comfort zone as much as revelling in it, Maya Jane Coles has delivered something very fine indeed.

Samaris’s songs are just so cleverly composed and gracefully balanced, that it’s sometimes hard to pick them apart.

In all, Overyjoyed sees Half Japanese play it considerably safer than they used to, and there’s bundles of pop-rock glory to enjoy, but it’s still more than enough for loyal fans to breathe a sigh of relief.

It’s deeply personal, plaintive and emotional, and a very lovely thing.

Total Time’s earthly escapism has stars in its eyes and dirt under its fingernails.

How refreshing it is to hear the sound of disaffection and fury channelled into music as cathartic and primal as this, rather than into either the kind of disorientated rhetoric that dogs our politics or the cowardly, disengaged pap which hogs the pop charts.

At its core, What Now is a love letter to music, warts and all. About the romance, the emotional release and the sheer joy it can bring when everything feels so doom-laden.

Overall Dissolve is primarily concerned with the cultivation of atmosphere, which is strong and sustained throughout--even across the few weaker tracks--and it is a promising introduction to an artist with a clear vision and a quietly experimental approach.

Mr. Dynamite's expansive instrumental interludes sometimes disrupt the pacing and punch of the record, defying coherence, but this never seems like anything less than deliberate mischief. It’s merely a performance of the group’s own self-discovery, proudly extending and flexing their new cyborg limbs.

While Chris Cohen is by no means a bad record, the combination of muddy production value and laid-back pace can make it feel like somewhat of a drag to listen to (despite it clocking in at just over half-an-hour), and, while there are gems on here, you certainly have to seek them out.

The Wants debut is bold, daring and incredibly effective. Separating itself from the regular indie noise, Container is an album that tells a compound narrative while experimenting cleverly with fine attention to detail.

I Won’t Care How You Remember Me marks the first true collaborative Tigers Jaw album. The result is a record that feels more emotionally nuanced than anything that’s come before it, and as such feels richer, and lusher than Spin, despite harbouring thinner production qualities.

Retaining a societal consciousness, Down Tools is not so much a party record but one that surveys the damage after a storm, picking up the pieces with an increasing dose of humour as well as world weariness.

Everything here works, but that’s hardly great praise.

The overall resilience also feels like 86TVs represents a brand new day rather than solely an echo of their former selves, even if some musical references from the album’s latter half draw from already dry wells.

Prima Queen cement their emerging status with The Prize in a confident and unabashed manner.

Elastic Days will for many be a welcome catch up with Mascis, and for those not yet acquainted, it is the perfect place to say hi.

Drifters/Love Is The Devil isn’t always an unqualified success, but more often than not it displays Dirty Beaches as a project increasingly adept at the scattershot of styles, imprinted with Hungtai’s own recognisable mark.

Although this might not be a record that grabs you by the collar and slaps you in the face with its genius, for those who are happy to give a little of themselves to bring these songs to life, Along The Way could prove an excellent companion for whatever journeys lie ahead.

Joy, recorded with Ty Segall and released last year, was a cocksure, psychedelia-tinged swirl of sex and limbs and thumping rhythms. I Have To Feed Larry’s Hawk exhibits little of this exuberance and is in large part a more gentle work of perspective and introspection, aided by a curatorial production that treats each element of the music, electronic or acoustic, like a moving part of a clockwork diorama, Presley’s breathy vocals condensing on the glass of the bell jar as he watches them all tick and turn.

If you’re a longtime fan of the band, you might be concerned about all this talk of simplification - you might even wonder if you’ll be able to detect the kind of madcap playfulness and mind-bending experimentation that brought you to the band in the first place. You’ll find out that actually, you can.

If I’m dinging anything, it’s the temptation to coat every chorus in frosting, but I guess that’s also what makes Man’s Best Friend so much fun to listen to. Even when Carpenter over-ices the cake, the bite underneath is her own – funny, flirty, occasionally feral, and unmistakably Sabrina.

Despite Hypercaffium Spazzinate feeling as referential as it does, it's surprising that there's nothing obviously referencing ALL, the attitude and mantra that populated some of their earlier records. The sentiment is there however, it's rooted in the record, its sheer energy, and the attention which has gone in to making it.

After The Great Storm is an emphatic record, conjuring up moments of hope and reassurance for difficult times, but also unafraid to reveal flashes of vulnerability and insecurity, all conveyed through an unfiltered and organic new style for Brun.

You do have to dig at times though, to forage and find your own touchstones. Without that effort you may be left wandering around the realm she inhabits admiring the craft without feeling its warm embrace.